SPN100 CHALLENGE: GIDEON'S LAKE
by SupernaturallyEgocentric
Summary: SPN100 CHALLENGE: GIDEON'S LAKE - This is a drabble series. The tourist trade is dying at Gideon's Lake, and so are the tourists. Sam and Dean must find what is stalking Gideon's Lake, before it finds them! Chapter 46! LAST CHAPTER AND IT'S 200 WORDS TO WRAP IT UP. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

"I don't think it's coming," Sam ventured.

Dean cast his brother a dark look. The lake's last victim, a young woman, had been taken the night before, barely an hour after they'd left.

"You got some place you wanna be?" he sniped.

"No." Sam answered levelly, trying not to let his brother's sharp tone get to him.

After a second, Dean huffed out a breath. "Look, get out of sight. Maybe it'll show if there's just one of us."

Sam hesitated, then nodded and moved back into the trees, careful to leave a clean line of sight to his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

Guilt clawed its way under Dean's skin, kept him pacing back and forth along the bank of the quiet lake.

Dammit, why had he snapped at Sam?

It had been _Dean's_ decision last night to call it quits and head back to the motel, not Sam's. _Dean's_ stupidity and a sixteen-year-old girl had died for it. Died screaming. Died bloody and scared and alone.

And her mother – _God_.

The memory of the poor woman's anguished wails at the morgue that morning tore through him, flayed his soul, and Dean glared out across the lake's still surface.

"Show yourself, you bastard!"


	3. Chapter 3

As if in answer to his cry, a series of ripples started up on the surface of the lake directly in front of him, no more than one hundred yards out.

Gaze intent, Dean watched as the ripples grew, gradually widening into distinct, concentric circles.

"Come on up," he said softly. "Don't be shy. Let's dance."

Then the faint outline of a shape appeared just below the surface of the water and Dean gasped as a triangular fin rose, twitching lazily at him.

His hand flew to his gun, but the fin sank down and he uttered a frustrated curse.


	4. Chapter 4

Dean sent a sharp glare out at the now quiet lake. "Are you _serious_?"

He shouted toward the woods. "Sam, did you see that? That was a shark! Some kind of damned _shark_!"

He didn't wait for a reply, just turned back to gaze back out on the water. "Sharks don't live in lakes. Well, _bull_ sharks live in lakes – hello, Shark Week! - but sure as hell not _this_ one."

He glanced over his shoulder, expecting to see his brother rejoining him, but there was no sign of him.

Suddenly uneasy, Dean took a step toward the trees. "Sam?"


	5. Chapter 5

Dean's eyes swept over the forest floor and caught immediately on the trail of something being dragged through the trees.

No footprints, just the drag trail.

Gun in hand, he followed the trail and after a few minutes found Sam's gun on the ground beneath a scraggly bush.

A little further on, the trail ended in a clearing, with Sam's cell phone smashed into bits and ground into the dirt.

Feeling sick, Dean cast about for new sign and saw a gnarled hollow log about twenty yards away.

There was something sticking out of one end.

It was a boot.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam hurt, from the top of his badly battered head to the soles of his strangely cold feet.

He tried to turn over, to change position, but there wasn't enough room. His prison was so tight he couldn't even raise his hand to wipe the blood from his eyes.

As he lay there, groggy and confused, a sudden sound from outside froze him and, for just a second, it was a toss-up whether he would call out for help or play dead.

Then the pain in his head swelled and he pushed a single word through a scratchy throat.

"Dean?"


	7. Chapter 7

My thanks to 1983Sarah, MeAzrael, Dizzo, Emebalia, LeeMarieJack and mckydstarlight for reading/reviewing/favoriting/following. I very much appreciate you all! If I've missed someone, please forgive me.

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Sam pushed Dean's hand away. "I'm okay." He tried to get to his feet, then sank back against the hollow log with a groan.

"Sure, you are, princess," Dean snorted. "Just stay still." He checked Sam's pupils. "Shit. Concussion for sure."

Sam grunted, not surprised. "My head feels like it's gonna fall off."

"Shocker." Dean prodded Sam's ribs, decided they were good. "What happened?"

Sam couldn't think past his headache. "Last thing I remember is going into the woods."

Dean smirked. "Only you could get mugged hiding in the woods, Sammy."

Sam's only reply was a firmly upthrust middle finger.


	8. Chapter 8

" _What_?"

"I know. Pretty cool, huh?"

"What have you been drinking?" Sam grimaced as his socked foot came down hard on a rock. "There are no sharks in Minnesota. Especially not in a lake!"

"Yeah, I know. Except," Dean grinned delightedly, "apparently there are."

"Dean . . ."

"Listen, Sammy, I _know_ my fins. This was definitely a shark and a pretty damn big one, by the size of it."

"Dean, if you say Great White, I swear to God –" Sam stopped and swayed, turning even paler. "Crap." He took a shaky breath. "How much farther to the car?"


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't like Sam to ask for help. So when he grabbed Dean's arm as support for the last hundred yards to the Impala, that was tantamount to any other person asking for an ambulance.

With a one-booted Sam tripping over every plant and rock in his path, Dean breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached the Impala.

Carefully lowering the shaky giant into the car, Dean asked, "Hospital?"

Sam shook his head wearily. "I just need some rest."

Dean grinned. "Then we go fishing!"

"Then we find out who coshed me and get my damned boot back."


	10. Chapter 10

Dean yawned and looked over at the next bed where his brother was hunched over his laptop. "Sorry to interrupt your geeky flow, Sammy, but you need to get some rest."

Sam scowled. "Couldn't sleep. Keep thinking about the stupid shark."

"That _was_ pretty cool."

"Yeah, but it can't be the _shark_ killing people!" Sam insisted. "They were found on land. And even if they _had_ been killed in the lake, the river that feeds it isn't capable of bringing a big predator in." He shook his head. "There's definitely something fishy going on."

Dean fell off the bed laughing.

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Okay now, even tho the challenge word was flow, I want credit for the pun in this one! I know it's not due to post until Sunday, but I swear, the odds of me coming up with another pun are so far off the scale - I can['t even tell you!


	11. Chapter 11

"Dean, if you start asking questions about sharks, people will think you're nuts," Sam warned in a low voice, looking around the cafe.

He shut up as their waitress, a sweet young thang with enough cleavage to keep even Dean happy, came up to their table, order pad in hand.

"What can I get you?" She barely glanced at them.

"Chicken Caesar salad," Sam said.

She scribbled it down. "And you?"

"Miss?"

She looked up and froze as Dean unleashed the full force of his smile on her. Then he brought his eyes into play and she dropped her pad.


	12. Chapter 12

Lunch over, Sam worked on his laptop while Dean hung out with Tara (aka Busty Waitress) at the counter.

Hearing the diner's door chime open, Sam looked up to see a goth-ish teen stalk in.

The pallid boy did a comic double-take when he caught sight of Dean attempting to extract Tara's tonsils with his tongue, and his young face turned murderous.

Then his gaze moved to Sam and his dark eyes widened with startled recognition, and what looked a lot like fear.

With a squeak he turned and bolted from the diner.

Sam, no fool, bolted right after him.


	13. Chapter 13

The kid was fast. Ignoring Dean's shout, Sam got outside just in time to see the boy disappear around the corner.

When Sam rounded the corner, the kid was running across the street a block down, cutting right in front of two cops in a squad car.

When the kid hit the sidewalk, he skidded into an old woman, knocking her to the ground. One of the cops jumped out of the car to help her and the other cop opened up his siren and peeled out after the kid who was pelting down the street.

Sam wasn't far behind.


	14. Chapter 14

"I don't know what bug crawled up your ass, Harley, but you take yourself right back to Ms. Dann and apologize." The cop shook the boy's shoulder. "You hear?"

The boy nodded sullenly.

"And next time you make me chase you, I'm callin' your mama. We'll see what _she_ has to say."

The boy nodded again, his expression turning even darker.

From across the street, Sam watched the cop get back into his car. The patrol car paced the boy as he walked back to where the other cop waited with the elderly woman.

Who the hell was this kid?


	15. Chapter 15

Sam climbed into the Impala and the two hunters sat, watching as the boy walked dejectedly down the street.

"The kid's name is Harley Bannerman," Dean said. "Sixteen-year-old drop-out. He lives outside town with his mom and her two sisters."

Sam nodded, itching to blow by the still-present cops, snag the boy and find out what made him run.

"The women have the rep of being witches. Nothing big, just the usual spells and potions." Dean shrugged. "Tara says they don't come into town much, but she sees Harley a couple times a week, when he comes into the diner."


	16. Chapter 16

"He looked pretty pissed off when he saw you snogging on Tara," Sam remarked.

"He's got a crush on her. She thinks it's funny."

"She would," Sam said acidly.

Dean gave him a half-smile. "Yeah, well, you know . . ." His hands traced a voluptuous figure in the air.

"Nice."

"Lighten up, Sam. What's the big deal? Not like I'll ever see her again."

Sam didn't reply.

The boy trailed out of sight. After a moment, the two cops drove away and Dean started the car again.

"Let's go. I don't like the idea of witches having your boot."


	17. Chapter 17

Harley crept in through the window of his darkened bedroom, closing it quietly behind him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned toward his bed, then gave a small cry of surprise when the bedside light came on, revealing his mother sitting on the bed.

Taking a sip out of her ever-present jar of Guinness, Kate smiled coolly at him. "What've you been up to, Harley?"

The boy looked toward the door, wilting when he saw his two aunts blocking the way.

Auntie Joy scowled. "Did you think we didn't see you by the lake last night, you little shit?"


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry about the delay. I'm finishing up chapter three of MB Redux and am a little distracted. Chapter 19 up tomorrow!

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"They might be waiting for us," Dean said, looking at the well-lit Bannerman house. "If the kid knows who we are, his family might, too."

"Who cares." Sam said moodily. "This is _crap_."

"What? Why?"

"Are you kidding?" Sam looked at him in disbelief. "There's a shark in the lake. A _shark_. Then someone knocks me out, stuffs me into a hollow log and steals my _boot_."

"We've seen weirder."

"Yeah, I know, but that was –wait. Could it be –"

There was a shout from the house. The front door flew open and a dark figure bolted into the night.


	19. Chapter 19

Harley tore through the woods, his mother's words running through his head on continuous playback, a soul-destroying litany of his failings and her disappointment in him.

It was _their_ fault, he thought resentfully. If her damned sisters weren't spilling their poison into her ears 24/7, Mom would _see_ that.

Damn it, it wasn't as if he hadn't tried!

Stumbling to a halt, he leaned against a tree and touched a tentative finger to his swelling lip - a little love-tap from Auntie Joy, the bitch.

"God, my life _sucks_ ," he muttered, then startled as two dark shapes loomed up beside him.


	20. Chapter 20

Harley turned to flee. Dean caught him easily by the back of the neck and shoved him over to Sam. Sam took a firm hold on him and clamped one large hand over his mouth.

"Don't say a word," Sam whispered, mindful that someone could be listening. "Not one damned word."

The boy stood frozen, staring from one to the other, eyes wide with fear.

Sam shook him. "You hear me?" he hissed.

Harley nodded jerkily.

"Are you the one that took my brother's boot?" Dean said softly.

Harley hesitated, then nodded.

Sam's face grew even darker. His grip tightened.


	21. Chapter 21

"Is it here?" Sam whispered into Harley's ear.

The frightened boy hesitated, then slowly shook his head.

Sam and Dean exchanged a grim look, then Dean grabbed hold of Harley's other arm and they lifted him off the ground between them, Sam's hand still clamped firmly over the boy's mouth.

Panicking, Harley started to struggle but Dean hissed an angry warning and he sagged between them, offering no further resistance.

As they hauled him through the woods back to the Impala. the hunters kept their eyes and ears open, but no one in the house came looking for the boy.


	22. Chapter 22

The three drove a few very silent miles and pulled over into a deserted rest area.

Mouth tight, Sam pulled Harley out of the Impala and dragged him over to a picnic table, shoving him down roughly.

"Talk," he snapped.

"What?" Harley gaped up at him in confusion. "I don't –"

Dean patted Sam on the shoulder. "Calm down, killer." He sat down beside Harley and gave him a grin full of teeth. "I think he wants you to start talking about what's been going on in Gideon's Lake, sport."

"And you can start with the stupid shark!" Sam interrupted.


	23. Chapter 23

"Are you going to kill me?" Harley quavered. "I can get your boot back!"

Dean snickered and Sam glared at him.

Damn it, it wasn't just the boot! This little shit – or his psycho family – had zapped him and stuffed him into a hollow log! Hell, his head _still_ hurt!

 _Screw_ the _boot_!

Man, there was going to be no friggin' _end_ to the teasing Dean was going to dish out when this freak show was over! He almost wished the bastards had just thrown him into the damned lake with the stupid damned shark and gotten it over with!


	24. Chapter 24

"There was no shark!" Harley gasped out.

"I saw it!" Dean objected.

Harley shook his head violently. "No! That was Auntie Joy. She does illusions, better than anyone I've ever seen!"

Dean thought back to the gigantic fin that had broken the water. "What if I'd gone in the water? Would it have just – vanished?"

Harley shook his head again. "Auntie Joy's illusions have teeth. You wouldn't have come out again."

"But why the shark?" Sam said sharply. "A real shark can't go on land, what was the point?"

"They were just having fun with you," Harley whispered, shame-faced. "Playing."


	25. Chapter 25

They were all quiet for a moment.

"And when they were done having fun?" Dean asked finally. "What then?"

Harley looked down into his lap. When he looked up, his eyes were wet with tears. "My mom likes cats. Especially tigers."

Big silence.

"Is that what killed that girl the other night?" Dean asked, feeling sick.

Harley's reply was barely audible. "Yes."

"Your _mother_ did that?"

"No, Auntie Joy - Mom does bindings. All she needs is something that belongs to you and - you have to do whatever she tells you."

Sam drew in a sharp breath. "My boot."


	26. Chapter 26

"No, no, she doesn't have it!" Harley protested. "After they stuffed you in the log, I followed them and grabbed it and hid it. It's safe!"

Sam relaxed. A tad. "Why did they come after us anyway?" he asked. "We don't fit the profile of the other vics."

"They know you guys are hunters."

" _How_?"

"Auntie Gee is a seer."

"This just keeps getting better and better," Dean groaned.

"She can't see very far," Harley admitted. "And she misses a lot, but – she saw you two coming."

"Great." Eyes narrowing, Dean leaned in close to Harley. "So - what about you?"


	27. Chapter 27

"M – _me_?" Harley stammered.

"Yeah, you." Dean held his gaze. "You told us what your family can do. What about you?"

Harley hung his head. "Nothing."

"Come on, kid," Sam said harshly. "Tell us the truth."

"I told you, _nothing_!" The kid's face flamed with shame. "I'm a dud!" He drew in a trembling breath.

"Look. We normally come into our power, whatever it is, when we hit puberty. I never did. We thought I was just going to be late, but -" He swallowed hard. "It never happened."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

"Consider yourself lucky," Dean said.


	28. Chapter 28

Harley watched as the two men talked in low voices just a few feet away.

He was _so_ screwed.

He'd told these guys secrets. _Family_ secrets. Secrets his mom had warned him never to reveal, on pain of – hell, he didn't know _what_ , but he was guessing it wasn't good. He was sure pain would be involved, if not death. Pain _and_ death.

Shifting nervously in place, he went still when one of the hunters looked over at him, then let out a sigh of relief when the big man looked back at his partner.

Fuck. He was _so_ screwed!


	29. Chapter 29

"He's just a kid," Sam said.

"Think he's got anybody he can go to?"

"Dean . . ."

"How else can this play out? You think those three are just gonna stop when we point out it's not _nice_ to kill people?"

"No, I know," Sam said reluctantly. "It's just, sometimes, this job –" At the sound of a nearby footstep he turned just in time to catch a heavy branch in the face.

On his way to the ground, Dean's shout in his ears, Sam had just enough time to think, "Why is it always _me_?" and then he was out.


	30. Chapter 30

Harley raised the branch to take another swing at Sam. Dean grabbed him and cuffed him across the face, sending him to the ground beside Sam.

Dean tore the branch away from the stunned boy and flung it away, then knelt beside his unconscious brother. A lump was already rising on Sam's forehead, a nasty scrape down his cheek seeping blood.

"Damn it, Sammy," he muttered.

With a moan, Harley started to get up.

Growling, Dean fisted a hand in the boy's shirt, stopping short when he looked into his face. Eyes wide and blank, Harley was nowhere in there.


	31. Chapter 31

Dragging the boy to the car, Dean grabbed a pair of Plasticuffs from the trunk, secured Harley's wrists and then bound his ankles together. Once he was sure the kid couldn't break free, he tossed him into the back seat of the Impala and ran back to his brother.

Sam was awake and sitting on the ground, clumsily dabbing at the blood on his face.

"His mom's got him bound," Dean said. "He'll be okay once we – once we take care of the witches. You okay?"

Sam nodded shortly and got to his feet, waving away Dean's offer of assistance.


	32. Chapter 32

"What if he was lying and they have my boot?"

Dean glanced at Sam. "I don't think he was lying. Neither do you."

"But what if? What if she gets control of me and sends me after you?"

Dean scowled at him. "It's not gonna happen!"

"But _what if_ –" Sam said stubbornly.

Dean slammed his hand down on the steering wheel, sending the Impala skidding towards the side of the road.

Glaring at Sam, Dean pulled her back on track. "Then I tie up your dumb ass and throw you in the back with the kid! _That's_ what if!"


	33. Chapter 33

They pulled over about a quarter mile to the Bannerman house.

Dean looked into the back seat and poked Harley in the shoulder. "You okay, kid?"

Harley, who'd been quiet for the last couple of minutes, started to struggle.

Dean grinned at Sam. "Yeah, he's fine."

Sam wasn't in the mood. "Let's just get this done with and get out of here."

Dean nodded and the two got out of the car.

"Welcome back, you two! Did you come for the boot?"

It was a woman's voice, a warm voice, laughter floating at the edges, a touch of madness beneath.


	34. Chapter 34

Both boys drew their guns and the woman laughed. "I wouldn't, not unless you want to be kitty chow."

Sam heard a low growl and looked to see a massive tiger crouched about five feet away from Dean. His brother stood frozen, staring into the big cat's eyes.

"If you're thinking about shooting him, don't bother. You'll just piss him off," Kate Bannerman said. "I'm not quite ready to let him off the leash."

She stepped closer to Sam, looking past him into the dark car. "Tell me, handsome, do you have my worthless idiot of a son with you?"


	35. Chapter 35

Sam nodded and stepped to the side, letting her pass. She peered into the back seat of the car for a moment, then gave a snort of contempt.

"You really are completely useless, Harley. Come out of there!"

The boy struggled to rise, couldn't make it with his hands and ankles bound.

Mouth tight, she leaned into the car and spoke a quick indistinguishable word.

Harley went limp. After a moment, he said, "Mama?"

Kate reached in and loosened the ropes around his ankles. "Come on, out."

Afraid to look at her, Harley crawled out, kicking loose from the ropes.


	36. Chapter 36

Gee appeared and moved to stand beside her younger sister. "You really are completely useless," she said. "No wonder your father left."

Kate flicked an angry glance at her and Gee shrugged, raising her hands. "Just saying."

Harley mumbled something indistinct and Kate smacked him carelessly across the top of his head. "If you're going to say something, Harley, just say it!"

Breathing hard, fists clenched, Harley raised his eyes. He spoke directly to his mother.

"My dad didn't leave because of me. He left because of _them_."

Gee snorted contemptuously. "So why didn't he take you with him, Useless?"


	37. Chapter 37

Harley's face cracked a little and Gee laughed. It was a hard, jarring sound.

Eyes still on the salivating tiger, Dean winced. Christ, what a _bitch_. He'd like to shoot her just for that.

He risked a quick look toward Sam. His brother was standing beside the open car door, attention divided between the tiger and the escalating hostilities between the women and Harley.

Those hostilities were giving the boys time, keeping the tiger on its leash.

Now they just had to figure out which one of Macbeth's bitches was controlling the tiger or his ass would be cat chow!


	38. Chapter 38

"Gee!" Kate snapped.

The smile died on Gee's face and she scowled at her sister. "What!"

"I've told you not to talk about James."

"Oh, the holy James!" Gee mocked. "Mustn't talk about the holy James!"

"Gee!"

"Well, it's not like he wasn't sticking his dick into anything that would hold still! What do you care?"

"He was _not_ \- !" Kate was outraged.

Gee rolled her eyes. "Oh, please!" She saw Harley, looking sick, starting to edge away from his mother and she darted forward, grabbing him by the sleeve. "And just where do you think _you're_ going, Useless?"


	39. Chapter 39

"Away from you," Harley whispered. "I'm going to find my father."

"Don't bother." Gee smirked. "He's not there to find."

Confused, Harley's brow furrowed. "What?"

Kate stepped between them, separating Gee from Harley. "And just what the hell does _that_ mean?"

"Come _on_ , Sis. Did you think I wouldn't know? Joy, sure, she doesn't have two brain cells to rub together, but did you think _I_ wouldn't figure it out?"

The third witch stepped into view. "What the hell!"

"Chill, Joy," Gee's eyes were locked on Kate's, who was starting to look nervous.

"Screw chill!" Joy snapped. "What about James?"


	40. Chapter 40

When the third woman stepped into view, Dean breathed a silent sigh of relief.

 _Finally!_

Now they could get this dance started, which was awesome because his eyes were starting to water and he was going to start sneezing any minute.

Apparently it wasn't just housecats he was allergic to, it was freaking tigers as well, illusion or not!

The tiger growled softly and, tail twitching, moved its eyes from Dean to look at the circle of witches.

Dean waited a second, then took one careful step backward, freezing when the tiger returned its gaze to him, baring long teeth.


	41. Chapter 41

Sam's gun was ready. He watched as the tiger paced back and forth in front of Dean, tail lashing nervously, as his mistress grew increasingly agitated.

"Where the hell do you get off calling me stupid?" Joy said angrily. "And what did you mean about James? Where is he?"

Enjoying the rumpus, Gee slid a sideways glance to Harley, and then Kate. "The roses are doing really well this year, aren't they, Sis?"

Kate drew in a shaky breath.

"Go to the house, Harley." She reached out and gave him a little shove when he didn't move. "Go on now."


	42. Chapter 42

"Roses?" Perplexed, Joy stared from Gee to Kate.

"Roses need a good fertilizer," Gee said. "It's expensive, though, and the bags are so heavy! It's so nice when it just walks itself in."

Her laughter was dark with delight at the look of dawning comprehension on Joy's face.

Harley plucked at his mother's arm. "Mama?" His voice was small, pleading.

Kate couldn't look at him. Instead, she stared with hatred at her younger sister. "You _bitch_!"

"I don't understand. You killed James?" Joy asked Gee, stunned. "You?"

"Me? Oh Joy, you really are dim." She pointed at Kate. " _She_ did!"


	43. Chapter 43

Harley stumbled away from the women, face slack with horror and grief. Gee was having too much fun to pull him back this time. He stumbled into the nearby tree line and in a moment the sound of retching could be heard.

Joy was frozen in place. Her small pinched face looked lost. "Kate?"

"I don't know why _you're_ so upset, Joy, he was _Kate's_ husband!" Gee was practically giddy with delight. "Look at it from her side. Bad enough he's screwing every woman in town. But then she finds out he's screwing _you_. That was a bit too much!"


	44. Chapter 44

Joy groaned. " _No_."

"Yes!" Gee raised her arms to the moon and spun in a happy little circle. "God, it feels good to finally say it out loud. I was getting really sick of St. James!"

Stilling, she saw a sudden movement and cried out in shock.

"Joy, no!"

The tiger hit Kate, a fast-moving mist of teeth and claws. Her neck broke and she fell to the ground in a heap. Then the beast was gone on the wind, leaving the two women staring at their dead sister.

Joy sank to the ground beside Kate, face twisted with anguish.

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That's it for tonight. Bed! Last few chapters up tomorrow.


	45. Chapter 45

Harley sat on the ground, arms wrapped around his knees, face hidden against them.

He didn't look up at Gee's scream, or Joy's wretched weeping. He didn't flinch when two gunshots broke the night air. He ignored the boys when they approached and stood awkwardly beside him.

Soon he was roused by the sounds and glare of a roaring fire. Skirting the fire, he went to the house and packed his few possessions into a battered backpack.

When he left the house, Harley stood with bowed head over the rosebushes planted near the front door.

And then he was gone.


	46. Chapter 46

Sam and Dean drove two hundred miles that night, just to get away from the stink of smoke and tragedy.

The thought of Harley's disappearance preyed on them both. They'd searched for him but found no sign beyond the disarray in his room and what they assumed were his footprints near the rose bushes.

Exhausted, they stopped just past midnight in a small town near the Arkansas/Texas border and, after checking in with Bobby, who put them onto a new hunt a couple states over, slept for ten hours straight.

At breakfast the next morning, they ate quietly. Dean pretty much ignored the flirtatious waitress and Sam spent most of the meal on his laptop, researching the job.

"Bobby's right. Looks like a Rugaru," Sam said, closing his laptop.

Dean made a face. "Hate them."

"Yeah, I guess."

Shooting a glance at his brother, Dean went on with his breakfast, wiping up the last of the egg yolk with his toast. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Sam looked at him plaintively. "It's just –"

"What?"

"Well - all that crap and I _still_ didn't get my boot back!"

Dean choked, spewing coffee all over the table.

Sam grinned and dug into his pancakes.


End file.
